Beautiful Bedlam (26 page)

“Logan Jackson! Yes! That’s my boy!” Trent screamed joyfully like a proud father with a-would you believe it-fist pump in the air as if he were an advocate for the Breakfast Club. Logan couldn’t help but grin back at him. Trent knew how much Sienna meant to him and they were both rejoicing the fact that he finally got the girl. Sienna however was stunned silent with wide eyes as she finally noticed a disheveled Noah amongst the crowd of onlookers. His rented navy tux was ripped at the shoulder and he was covered in dust and his shoes were ridiculously muddy. Honestly? He looked like he had gone to hell and back, if hell was a pig farm.

“Ooh look who finally joined the party.” Bethany cooed gleefully as she too finally noticed him.

“Urgh, God he stinks. No wonder Sienna upgraded. But I’m guessing she forgot to tell you?” she added holding her hand over her nose with a disgusted expression on her pretty face.  Sienna shot a glance at her. Jeez, you could practically see her horns protruding from her forehead, all she needed now was a red trident as she was set to take Lucifer’s place as the source of all evil. Noah just looked… well furious.

“What the hell is going on?” he spat out seething his eyes constantly shifting from Sienna to Logan. She finally broke out of Logan’s arms.

“Noah, I can explain.” She stuttered. Everyone looked at her expectantly. Like a fool she had no words. She probably would have run for the door had clusters of her fellow peers not shrouded her with disgusted expressions on their faces. Gone were the adoring smiles.

“Well?” he exclaimed looking very much like the scorned lover. Logan looked at her too. She had to make a choice, now apparently in front of the entire school.

“Can we just go outside and talk?” she asked as she walked toward him. She was careful as not to wrinkle her nose due to the smell.

“How long were you two at it behind my back?” he bellowed before anyone could say anything.

“How about you calm down?” Logan said to Noah surprised to see him taking it so badly.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! You calm down! I’m tired of being calm!” he yelled. The music had officially stopped and the teachers and chaperones were quickly making their way over.

“Do you know what I even went through to get here today? Do you even care?” he asked his voice muffled in to a hushed whisper at the end. His eyes and voice were so full of hurt. She swallowed her guilt.

“Of course I care. Oh Noah, I’m sorry. I waited for you all night. Where the hell were you?” she asked, now it was her turn to be angry. They had been dating for a grand total of one week. They were hardly star-crossed lovers. Yes, what she did was immoral but she felt like he was blowing in out of proportion.

“I went to the other side of town to that fancy florist’s to get you a corsage. But then I found out you were allergic to carnations. So I tried to get here as fast as I could using a quicker route through the woods then my car got stuck in the mud, and then my cell battery died and then I had not one but two flat tires! And I walked here because I didn’t want you to think I had just stood you up.” He panted.

“I’m not allergic to carnations.” She said numbly confused by the turn of events.
Where did he get that idea?

“
That’s
all you got from that overly dramatic speech?” Bethany retorted amusedly clearly still enjoying the show.

“Alright everybody show’s over. Go back to your frolicking and knitting and whatnot!” Trent shouted and the DJ quickly replaced the awkward silence with the latest hip-hop dance hits. Some people had started to move away and thought it best to leave the disgruntled couple and give them some privacy. Whereas others still avidly watched completely fascinated by the dramatic sitcom that was Sienna’s life.

“And you! You’re nothing but a manipulative liar.” Noah hissed at Logan with so much spite and hatred in his voice.

“Oh,
I’m
the manipulative liar?
You’re
the one who weaseled your way in and
stole
her from me, from right under my nose! We had a damn pact!” Logan practically growled as he walked towards Noah so menacingly people moved out of their way and a lot of people whipped out their cell phones as per usual. They were all expecting a great show like from the game a couple of weeks back.
What pact?
The teachers had finally made their way towards them but were too late for what was coming next. Sienna quickly placed her hand on Logan’s arm and silently begged him not to do anything rash. He slowed as he looked in to her worried emerald eyes.

“You’re welcome to my sloppy seconds, its not like she puts out anyway!” Noah snapped angrily which caused a number of people surrounding them to snigger and giggle. His brown eyes widened in fear as Logan descended on him. He swung his right arm back and punched him square in the face. Noah went hurtling back in to the table. To add insult to the injury the punch bowl smashed on to his head causing the alcohol to seep in to his wounds.
Ouch
. Empty bottles of liquor tumbled out from under the collapsed table.

“Oh, we’re so busted.” She heard Trent whisper to some of his jock friends. Despite the amount of blood trickling down Noah’s face Logan still seemed intent on teaching him a lesson.

“Stop it, Logan. You’ve done enough! Stop for goodness sake!” she begged. Logan froze in his steps as he saw the emotion clear in her eyes. Fear. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her. He clenched his fists as he tried to bury his anger.

“What the devil is going on?” Principal Sharpe screeched as she finally got to them. She was dressed in her usual grey pantsuit. Despite all the havoc and teenage drama around her, Sienna couldn’t help but wonder if that was the sole pair of clothes that Sharpe owned. And if so, she ought to buy her a new pantsuit as a farewell present when Sharpe expelled her miserable ass. She took one good look at Noah’s bloody appearance and Logan looming over him and she saw red.

“That’s it! This dance is officially over! Tell the DJ to pack up! Everyone go home, now! Except for you five!” she yelled looking at Noah, Logan, Sienna, Trent and Bethany.

“Everybody out!” she heard someone call from behind her.  She was vaguely aware of the gym quickly emptying out, and the sounds of people packing away the chairs.

“Noah, are you okay?” Sienna asked worriedly as she rushed over to him. She touched his arm but he immediately shook her off.

“Don’t touch me. Just stop. I don’t need your pity.” He hissed as he slowly stood up. The look he gave her was of absolute hatred and malice. He hated her and she didn’t blame him. He had a gash on his forehead where most of the blood seemed to have been seeping from. His already dirty navy suit was now drenched in the punch juice and his sandy brown hair was completely soaked. Blake came from behind her and lightly placed his hand on her back and quickly tried to move her away from Noah.

“But I just want to-“ she began explaining but he swiftly interrupted her.

“I know you mean well but anything you say right now will just make him feel worse. Mind the glass.” He whispered to her as she carefully lifted her ivory dress and stepped over the scattered shards of glass. Mrs. Norton the high school nurse quickly scampered her way over to Noah with a first aid kit.

“What happened?” Principal Sharpe asked in her calmest voice her eyes never leaving the five. Noah seemed to be locked in Logan’s cold steely glare and kept his mouth shut. Trent and Bethany just looked uncomfortable, and Sienna just didn’t know what to say or where to look.

“That’s it. Everybody in my office.” Sharpe sighed. Logan let slip a small smile at Noah, which caused him to lunge forward at a feeble attempt to attack Logan. He probably would have been able to land a blow had Blake not been there to grab his arms from behind and hold him firmly in place. Logan just stood there with not a scratch or a drop of blood on him, with his hands in his pockets, his dark eyes gleaming wickedly with that small smile still planted on his handsome smug face.

“Calm down!” Blake hissed in to Noah’s ears as he slumped forward. He then just sat in a chair and put his head in his hands.
Oh God, please don’t cry
, Sienna thought as she looked at him sadly. To her relief he didn’t, though he did look like he was struggling not to.

“Noah, if you don’t calm down, I’ll have no choice but to call the sheriff. Is that what you want?” Sharpe asked, her voiced high pitched and eerily cool.

“No.” he replied quietly. She turned to leave and they all followed shortly afterwards in silence. Once they had finally reached the principal’s office. Principal Sharpe closed the blinds and slammed the door shut. She then sat in her red swiveling chair rather dramatically as she looked up at them expectantly.

“Well? What happened?” she asked with her eyebrows raised.

“We had a disagreement. We settled it. There’s nothing more to say. It’s sorted. I assure you it wont happen again.” Logan spoke smoothly, his voice like rich velvet, so calm and confidently self-assured.

“Oh, you assure me? Well then we have nothing to talk about, do we Mr. Jackson?” Sharpe spoke sarcastically. She was clearly fed up with Logan’s smooth talk and smug expression and violent way. Her eyes fell on Sienna and she frowned instantly.
Oh bo
y.

“Miss Rivers, of course. Why am I not surprised to find you here in my office yet again? Can you please shed some light as to what had just occurred at the dance just now?” she asked her voice dripping with fake politeness, and hidden indignation and dislike. The last thing Sienna wanted was to rat out on
Logan
of all people.

“Oh for the love of God!” Beth exclaimed annoyed at Sienna’s tightlipped response.

“She was fooling around the two of them and-“

“That’s not-“ Sienna began but again she was interrupted that night.

“
And
Noah found out and they started arguing. Logan only pushed Noah away in self-defense obviously and he fell in to the table and hurt himself. That’s all.” Beth explained in her usual carefree casual way as if Noah had walked in to Logan’s fist.

“What about the alcohol in the punch?” Sharpe asked her eyes still on Sienna.
Why is she still looking at me?
Sienna thought feeling annoyed. “I don’t know anything about that.” She replied looking at Blake’s odd expression.
Did he snitch on her?

“Noah, is this true?” Sharpe asked as she swiveled her chair slightly to face him. He held an icepack to his forehead and merely nodded.

“You are all positively lucky that Trent’s father is a good friend of mine. You might know him. He’s the sheriff. And Mrs. Jackson has just so generously donated a small fee to the art department so out of good favor for your parents I’m willing to let you off with a heavy severe warning. Your thoughtless and violent actions have brought consequences that the entire school had to suffer. People spent days planning and preparing for this dance and you do understand you’ve ruined it for everyone, don’t you?” she said it to all of them, yet her beady prejudiced eyes never left Sienna. She knew she blamed her for tonight.

“Mr. Blake did you happen to catch what happened tonight?” Sharpe asked.

“I was on the other side of the room when it took place. So no.” he lied. The truth was he had been there as Sienna danced with Logan looking very much like the beauty and the beast.
She’s your student
, he reminded himself.
Not your friend, not your confidante and most definitely not your girlfriend
. He didn’t understand why he felt so jealous then? In honest truth, Blake left the room just as they began kissing but he was hardly going to admit that.

“You’re lucky you didn’t need to get any stitches Noah. To be honest I’m very surprised and disappointed in your behavior. Because this is your first visit to my office I’m not going to suspend you but this is going on your high school record. The rest of you, go home. Your parents will be notified promptly.”

They didn’t need to be told twice. Bethany scrammed the hell out of there before you could blink twice. Sienna could already hear her yapping on the phone to her friends in the hallway.

“Oh my God, I know right, who’d have thought little miss perfect was such a tramp? Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree. I always knew she was a pretentious whore, now at least the entire school knows too. She cackled tilting her head back with glee, she then turned her head to smirk at Sienna before finally leaving the hallway.

“Ignore her. She’s just jealous.” Logan whispered to her putting his arm around her waist. She looked over his shoulder to catch Noah’s eye.

“Noah, I-“

“Do me a favor and at least give me the courtesy of not having to listen to you explain yourself.” He spoke over her abruptly, still clutching the icepack to his forehead. He quickly walked away. “He’s just angry. He’ll get over it.” Logan whispered assuredly. She didn’t know how to respond so she merely nodded her head.

“I’ll drive you home,” he said filling in the prolonged silence as they walked to his Mustang. The truth was Logan didn’t care what anyone thought. He didn’t care how Noah was feeling. He was simply overjoyed that he had finally gotten the girl, however his joy was clouded by her silence. He started the car and they drove in silence. You could hear the sound of her uneven breaths and the car engine revving at every turn. She fiddled with the knob of the radio. She couldn’t bear to sit in the insufferable silence any longer. The sound of a new Taylor Swift guitar-strummed song all about her latest heartbreak filled in the tension between them. Noah’s heartbroken expression kept coming to her mind and she felt guilty for even sitting in the same car as Logan. She couldn’t believe she had kissed him in front of the entire school!

What was I thinking
? She asked herself.
You weren’t thinking. For once, you didn’t think, you just did. And it was amazing.
She thought back to the feeling of his arms around her and shivery tingling feeling she felt all over her body when Logan kissed her. He had such a strong addictive effect on her that words failed to describe.